Typical integrated circuits often include conductive runners which connect individual transistors to each other. The conductors are often formed by depositing a blanket layer of conductive material such as aluminum upon a dielectric substrate. A patterned photoresist is formed on top of the conductive material. The patterned photoresist is used as a mask for the subsequent anisotropic etching of the conductive material. Many times, several layers of conductive material are etched sequentially to form a multi-layered conductor. However, linewidth control and pattern sensitivity are problems frequently encountered in etching several layers of conductive material.